Lamb and Potato Curry- كاري بالبطاطا

This is a delicious recipe using lamb chops. You could use stewing lamb, veal or beef. 

6-8 lamb chops

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 tablespoon salt

1 large tomato, chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 1/2 cup water

1 lemon

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

In a deep pot, heat the oil and sear the lamb chops on both sides. Add the onions, garlic,salt and spices and  cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir. Pour the water over and cover the pot and simmer for 60 minutes on medium heat. 

Check the sauce if it needs more salt. Add the potatoes. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the potatoes are cooked.

Turn off the heat, and squeeze the juice of one lemon and pour it over the the lamb chops.

Serve with plain white rice and salads.

Enjoy

Lamb Kufta with Potatoes, كفتة بالبطاطة

This is a very popular dish that we bake in the oven. You can cook it on top of the stove in a deep pan.

Serves 4

1 pound ground lamb or beef

1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon Arabian spice(bahar)
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 large russet potato, peeled
1 large tomato
1 ( 14.5-ounce can) diced tomatoes 
1/2 cup water

In a bowl, put the ground lamb and add the garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt and spice and mix by hand. Shape the meat into small balls and press each ball to make patties, and set aside.

Slice the tomato in half and slice in 1/4 inch slices, and set aside. Slice the potato in 1/4 inch sliced and cut each slice in a half. Slice the onion very thinly.

Open the tomato can and pulse the tomatoes in the food processor to make a purée.

In a deep Pyrex dish, pour 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Make a stack of meat, potato, onion and tomato slices. Arrange side by side in the pan. When all meat and slices are arranged, pour the water and the rest of the tomato sauce. Season with salt and more spices if desired.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes in 350 degrees F. Oven. Remove from oven, uncover and bake for15 more minutes. 

Serve with plain white rice, and salad.

Stuffed Vegetables- Dolma-دولمة

This is a traditional dish that we usually prepare in the weekend or when we have a big gathering. You can use the seasonal vegetables for this dish. During Winter we replace the grape leaves with Swiss Chard.

6-8 Servings

2 green peppers, top off, and seeds removed  

3 zucchinis, peeled and, cut in a half

3 small Italian eggplants, cut in a half

2 teaspoon salt, divided

1 pound ground lamb or beef

1 cup white rice

1 small onion, chopped

Juice of 2 lemons

1 cup tomato sauce, divided

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon Arabic Spice

1 (16-ounce) jar grape leaves

1 1/2 cup water

Core the inside of the zucchini and eggplant and set the flesh aside.

 Salt the insides of the vegetables with 1 teaspoon of salt, and place in a strainer to drain for 30 minutes.

Combine the meat, rice, lemon juice, garlic, onions, and half a cup tomato sauce, 1 remaining teaspoon of salt, and spices. Stuff the vegetables and arrange side by side in a deep pan or pot.

To stuff grape leaves, place one tablespoon of the filling in the center. Fold the sides to the center and fold the leaf over and roll lightly. Arrange them on top of the vegetables with the seem down.

If you are using fresh grape leaves, put them in boiling water to soften them for 5 minutes before stuffing.

Arrange the stuffed grape leaves on top of the vegetables. Pour the tomato sauce and water on top.

Place a fruit plate on top of the vegetables to keep them submerged. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a medium. Cook for 30 minutes, covered, until rice is cooked.

To serve, cover the pot with a tray or a large platter, and flip the pot on the tray. Serve it with bread and yogurt cucumber  salad/

Baklava-Baklawa بقلاوة خفيفة و لذيذة

Today, I started baking for the Holidays. I made this delicious tray of baklawa. It is a very light recipe, NOT loaded with syrup. Check out this website for the recipe, plus other iraqi cookies that I baked during a TV show.

www.chefsrecipes.org/show127.htm

Mung Beans Soup-شوربة ماش

Mung beans are very healthy and nutritious. We cook mung beans with rice. I decided to make a vegetable soup with these beans. Soak beans for a few hours before you start cooking. If you have not done that, pour hot water over the beans and set aside for 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 cup mung beans soaked in water for 12 hours

4 cups water

1/2 cup white rice

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons dried mint

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

Rinse the beans and discard water. Heat water in a deep pot and drop the beans. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 20 minutes. Skim off the mung beans green skin that float to top and discard.

Add rice and all the vegetables, and cook for 20 minutes until rice is cooked. Season with salt and pepper and stir.

Add the lemon juice and taste to adjust the salt and pepper. 

You can add chicken stock and diced chicken if not vegetarian.

Roasted Leg of Lamb

This is an aromatic and delicious recipe that my family always enjoy. Sometimes I add crushes tomatoes while baking, but not in this recipe. You can always add it to the pan instead of adding 1/2 cup of water.When you purchase the boneless leg of lamb, it is wrapped in a net to keep a nice shape of the lamb.

Remove the net and rinse the lamb under cold water. Pat it dry with paper towels. Place it on a cutting board and follow the directions.

In my recipes, I mention the Arabian Spice which is a combination of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and black pepper.

1 (3 pounds) lamb, boneless

6 cloves garlic

6 whole cardamoms

6 whole cloves

6 whole allspice

1 stick of cinnamon, cut in 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon Arabian Spice (7 spices or Syrian Spice)

2 table spoons salt

2 onions, slices

3 large potatoes, sliced

Preheat oven at 400 degrees F.

Trim off the layer of fat, but keep a little to crisp up while roasting. Make 1-inch slits in the lamb. Make

clusters of cardamom and garlic, or cinnamon and garlic and insert in these slits.

Brush the lamb in oil and season with salt and Arabian spice. Arrange the potatoes and onions on a

baking pan. Lay the lamb over the potatoes, and pour ½ cup of water. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees  F.. Remove from the oven and cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees for 90 minutes. Remove from oven and uncover. Bake in the oven for 30 more minutes to crisp up the top.

Remove from the pan and serve on a platter surrounded by the potatoes. Pour in some of the juices over the lamb.Skim off the fat before serving.

Serve with saffron rice.

Feta Cheese Spread

Feta cheese is a staple in my house. I use it for salads, sandwiches and in pastas. You need to preserve it in salt water and store in the refrigerator. It is often salty cheese.To serve, soak it in cold water for 20 minutes and drain it before slicing. In the following recipe, I added cottage cheese to the crumbled feta to cut down on salt. There are different varieties of feta that are imported or domestic that you need to try until you find the brand you like to purchase.

1 pound feta block

½ cup low fat cottage cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried mint or zaatar

In a bowl, crumble the cheese and stir in the cottage cheese. Sprinkle mint and drizzle olive oil and stir.

Serve in a small salad bowl and garnish with mint or black olives. Serve with pita chips or crackers.

For this recipe, you can add 1 clove of crushed garlic to the spread if you desire.

Enjoy